j, . 1. N. v. E . .s ~ :bt~H--. • • (PtUCF, 34 Naye Paise. SUPPLEMENT TO PART II /oF THE ANDHRA PRADESH GAZETTE . PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1960 I • . .. • . - Mineral Resources of the ·ceded Districts . · ·of • Andhra Pradesh I , Pdf N · V :8 . S. ]) utf MINERAL.RESOURCES OF THE CEDED DISTRICTS . OF ANDHRA PRADESH ·and ';i?m ~W:lft·~~,·~"'nd Hindri flow tll e1 ga.~~ - Penncru or Po ito Sdllt -south. .- • · ,.,.... BY Climate and Rainfall.-The maximum summer tempera­ N. V. B. S. DUTT, M. sc., ture in May rises to 114"F. at some places ·as Kumoo I Geologist, Geological Survey of India. where the wi::J.ter temperature 4rops as low as 44" F. at night. The range is considerably less in the elevated forested . INTRODUCTION .regions than elsewhere . · The average annual rainfall varies from 20 to SO inches Out of a total area of 27,400 square miles in the Ceded the mountainous regions receiving more rain than the districts of Andhra Pradesh, about a half has been geologi­ plain. In the Kumool district, the south-west monsoon cally surveyed, using modem maps on 1 incll to 1 mile scale. gives more rain west of the Nallamalas than on. the east, Some. important mineral investigations· hav~ also been while it feeds the Cuddapah ~strict more uniformly. -carried out. This paper presents a review of the known The north-east monsoon is more beneficial in the eastern mineral resources and their industrial possibilities in the part of the Cuddapah and Kumool districts· than on the area so far ~rveyed. The author is highly thankful to west. The annual rainfall increases from south to north in Dr. A., K. Dey,, S~perintending qeologist, and to J:?r. the Nallamalas and the western plain, while in the eastern M. S. Krishnan, Duector, Geologtcal Su!Vey of lnd1a, portion the increase of rainfall is from north to south. for kindly permitting him to Wr!te _up this a~count of the ·Periodically the rai1lfall is precariously low or unseasonal, mineral resources of the Ceded distncts of Andhra Pradesh especially in the western districts, causing drought and and for going through his manuscript. His thanks are famine conditions. due to Mr.' M. S. Venkatram, Superintending Geologist, for liis valuable suggestions. Soil and cultivation.-Either poorly developed black cotton soil or light red soil supporting mainly dry crops i1 ' found in the area. irrigation by tanks and wells is quite GENERAL characteristic of the area, and intensive cultivation can bo , promoted b' repair of old water sources and by construction The area and its 6oundaries.~The mineral map shows of new ones. Canal irrigation can also be planned to the location of the five Ceded districts of the former the best advantage of the region. · Madras State, namely, Anantapur, Bellary, Chittoor, Cuddapah and Kumool, popularly known as the Raya­ Forests.-Considering the rapid decrease of forest wealth laseema or the country ruled by the famous King Krishna­ in the hill tracts in recent years, it appears that the forests devil Raya of Hampi Vijayanagar. With the fo~ation can be protected only by strict enforcement of Forest Laws of Andhra State in October 1953, the western maJor part and by stepping up of afforestation and planned cutting. of the Bellary district has merged with Mysore, and the . three eastern taluks have been included in the Anantapur Communications.-Rail and road communications stand · and Kurnool districts. 'I'he new State of Andhra Pradesh in need of considerable improvement. A rail connection came in to existence on the first of November 1956, when between Broad gauge ana Metre gauge lines in the middle States all over India wer ~ reorganised. · part of the Cuddapah and Kurnool districts has long been felt necessary. Certain direct road links such as the one Topography and drainage.-The Nallamala is the main joWng Kumool (15"50': 70" 3') with Markapur (IS" mountain ran11e running across the Kurnool and Cuddapah 44': 79' 16') through Mantrala Kanama have been neg­ districts. · The_ Erramala bills on the west and the Veli­ lected. On some of the existing main roads there are no lcondas on the east.enclose the Kunderu and the Cumbum bridges over important streams, as at Jammalamadugu plains respectively. South of Cuddapah, the NallaJDalas (14° ~1': 78' 23') or Owk (Avuku) (15" 13': 78" 7'); · merge with the Palkonda (Palakonda :j:) or, Sesbachalam · "hills and extend into the Chittoor district. The rest of the GEOLOGY area is a flat plain, studded with isolated ridges. and cl?Sters The rock ' formations of the Ceded districts of hills belonging to the Eastern Ghats. The highest are metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks of the peaks ~re (I) Manti Konda (.c,.:3,009) on the Nallamalas, Arch~ean era and unfossiliferous sedimentary rocks of · (2) point 2230'on . the Erramalas, (3) Penchala Konda the Cuddapah and Kumool formations together with their (.c,.3,626) on the Velikondas and (4) Tellarallapet (43,776) associated intrusive and effusive igneous rocks. The on the Palakondas. following table shows the geological sequence of rock formations arranged in the order of antiquity after The Penner (Pennerut) river flows across the Anantapur King: · and Cuddapah districts with its t~ib~tar!es, the Kunderu and Sagileru from the Kurnool d1stnct m the north and Correct name not used on the topographical sheet. the Chitravati, Papaghni and Cheyyeru from the ~outh. t Cunent spelling on the topographical sheet. "The smaller streams, namely, Gundlakamma, Swamamukhi t Popular name of Niduzuwi (14' 39•: 78' 30'). (Nandyal Purple shaly limestones. Kundair •• { Purple calcareous shaly fialls• (Kunderu*) lKoil~ntla grey limestones and flags. Paniam (Pancm) Pinnacled quartzites. { Plateau quartzites. • rI' Kumool Auk (Avuku) purple shales, I Grey calcareous flags. ' JaiDilllllamadugu Greenish ~ey, purple, whitish and grey ·l Narji (Nirjit) { massive limestones with flag beds towards the base. ' Banganapall~ quartzites and sandstones with basal c:oo~ome.rates. ' I . StJP. D -1 r 1 1 Unconformity Srisailam quartzites. fKistn'a (Krishnat) ' ' Kolamnala red and purple slaty shales. { Irlakonda (Irla Konda) quartzites. Traps and associated mineral-bearing veins • Cumbum purple and grey slates and shales. Cuddapah .. j Nallamalai · Bairenkonda quartzites.. · I , (Na~amala*J• Tadpatri (Pullampet in the east) purple and grey. I Cheyair (Cheyyeru*) slaty shales. I Pulivendla (Nagari in the east) quartzites. I Papaghni Vempalle (Vaimpalli) limestones and shales. L Gulcheru (Guvvalacheruvu) quartzites. Unco!lformity r .. .. · Dolerite dykes. l Felsites, pegmatites and quartz veins. Bellary granite •. Archaean .. J Pegmatites and quartz veins. i · Champi_on and Peninsular gneisses. , . I · {Phyllites and banded ferruginous. quartzites, chlorite- ·1 Dharwar .. • • schists and limestones. · l ' Epidiorite, hornblende-schlsts and granulites. ' The Archaeans.-The Arcbceans are exposed in the occurring as tightly folded elongated; synclinal bands Anantapor district excluding Tadpatri taluk, in the Chlttoor - amidst gneisses. dis!rict excepting a few outliers of Cuddapab in the · - east~rn part, in Rayachoti taluk of the Cuddapah district Of the granites and granitoid gneisse~, the youngest and in the western third of Kurnool roughly demarcated is the Bellary g>:anite, whlch stands out in rocky wilderness by the Kurnool-Gooty (Guttit) road. with castle-like masses and fantastic tors. The rock is The oldest Archrean rocks of the area belong to the more or less porphyritic, consisting of predominating Dharwar system, and are made up of basic' igneous in- felspar, quartz, mica and hornblende with accessory rusive and effusive rocks and hlghly-alter~d sediments, epidote. ' ~ Correct name not used on the topographical sheet. • Current spelling on the topographical sheet Glossary of Telugu words- Ada vi= Forest Nalla=Grey, black Eru=River Tello= White Choli-Kalamu= Winter Palo= Milky white Kaliama, Kanuma=Pass Uru= Village Entla-Katamu=SUIIliJier . Petu= Plateau Kontla=Hill .Vana=Rain Rnfla=Stony Mala= Mountam Erra=Red • The Purana group.-The Puranas consisting of the feet thlck, and consist of two . bands <if hard massive ' Cuddapahs and Kurnools constitute the rest of the Ceded quanzites; the lo..yer one being peb~ly and the upper districts. · The rocks crop out in a crescent-shaped manner, somewhat finer-gramed, separated by thln laminated flaggy .concave towards the east•. The Kumool system covers beds, whlch are occasionally slaty in character. The a large part of the Cuddapah system, in the north-western upper stage of the series called the Tadpatri and the Pullam• portion of the Cuddapah district and middle portion of pet in ~he. north-western and s~mt~ern ·areas respectively. the Kurnool district, westofthe Nallamala Range..- Quartzites IS a truck ~c:quence ~f -predo~ating. shales, intercalated constitute the parallel· ridges and easterly-sloping plateaus beds of Siliceous limestones, mtrusiVe igneous rocks and· traps form some of the flat-topped ridges, whlle shales, fel!llginous chert and jasper beds. Towards the top of slates and limestones being less resistant weather into the thls stage, the well-cleaved shales weather into • needles • · plain. The Papaghni series is exposed along the western and limestones with much segregated chert often assume margin of the basin; the basal Gulcheru quartzites form fantastic shapes. The commonest trap rock is a dark steep cliffs overlying the crystalline rocks. · The Gulcherus coarse-grained, basic dolerite, weathering sometimes consist essentially of altered sandstone and grits with spheroidally but more often in massive cubes· some of U!e pebble ,bands and intercalations of argillaceous beds types appr_oach basalt in texture. They ar~ remarkably of variable thlckn.:ss. The Vempalle limestones are fine fresh, unlike_ the much-altered volcanic types of the- grained, siliceous and magnesian, frequently intercalated Dharwar. · with chert and often associated with ferruginous shales, especially near the base. They weather to a peculiar The Nallam~lai (~allamala) seri~, somewhat uncon­ oolitic structure.